todo

My culinary todo list:
1.  Harvest my rapidly growing basil and keep drying it for use in all things ragu (this is kinda done/in progress and not new but cool to me).
2.  My mother just made us a free form Challah that was amazing.  It reminded me that one not always braid said bread just because.  A free form boule took on a beautiful newness.  I'll be making it regularly for the kid's lunches.  Thanks Ma.
3.  As the weather cools down, I'll be cranking up direct grilling, i.e., roasted roots.
4.  Hunting for some good cucumbers to try out some pickling recipes found on Twitter (@1kitchen1girl).
5.  More Firedome pizza!  No new mods, far from perfect, but, it's done.  Despite the dearth of posts, I've been trying lots on it and I think I've got it as good as it'll go - and I'm happy with it (almost).
6.  Been watching pretzel making vids on YouTube and I'm almost ready to break out the lye.  I can't wait!!
7.  School's starting and the largely European teachers of my girl's school are in for some treats.  Overnight baking and all.

Ambitious list, stay tuned.

Alton's vid on pretzels using NaHCO3, he wimps out on properly using lye.

Baba Ghanouj on the Firedome (and some additional notes on the continuing saga of the Firedome development)

I'm happy with the use of this thing, but I need more experience.  A big problem I'm having is dome temps.  They're all over the place.  It may not be a problem, it just has to do with whether there is a live fire or if the fuel is smoldering.  

The objective I set out to acheive at the beginning of this project was evenness of cooking, crucial for a pizza.  With this rig, the only thing that will burn the bottom of a pizza is placing the fuel beneath the stone and not on the perimeter.  I've observed this several times.  

What keeps tugging at me is using wood for fuel.  After briquettes are started, this thing is pretty damn hot and new fuel catches fast - and burns fast.  Also, since so much of the perimeter is accessible with the hinged grate, removing the dome, charging fuel and regaining temps isn't such a big deal.  I do it routinely.  Now, I want to try to recharge with two logs on either side.  Once they catch, I'm curious about the temperature and the burn time.  So, that experiment's on tap.  I also have a few friends queued up who need some samples for tolerating my babbling about this thing.

Applesauce for 1 (guest blogger Frankie)

I'm hitting some wickedly cool milestones this Summer.

A week ago, while at the RPAC pool at OSU swimming with my papa, I tossed my kickboard aside and swam across the pool, watched a bunch of Bieber vids on YouTube,  sticking a few serious handstands and roundoffs in gymnastics and kicking my papa's butt in Connect 4.   In the kitchen, I've been dabbling in vegetables, decorating cupcakes under the watchful eye of my pastry chef mom and, today, my very first culinary creation.  Uncooked apple sauce!  I made it up; yet another data point for nature clobbering nurture.

Applesauce for 1
Core and slice a medium Granny Smith apple (from OSU's farmer's market).  Take each slice of the apple and shred it using a fine grater.  Eat the residual skin (big vitamins).  Take the resulting very fine apple pulp, add a single level teaspoon of sugar, mix, and then (my secret), clean your hands and squeeze a few cherries letting the sweet/tart juice into the applesauce discarding the pit and skin.  Chill a bit in the fridge, top with maraschino cherry - serve with demitasse spoon.

A crumbling meatloaf and wishlist

Summer, busy, really busy.

Prodded by the paying customers, Ross (hey man, go eat some Memphis bbq and stop reading blogs) suggested I post something to get those jars of jam below the fold.

Tonight was a special night, our dinner to commemorate Bastille Day.  This is our 10th anniversary of the day we landed in Columbus; it also marks another very special event.  Curious, aren't you?

I planned a meatloaf, a relatively rare and special dinner for us.  I usually add cracked wheat and then the usual suspects found in meatloaf (onion, fresh herbs, egg, a few bread crumbs, milk, some tomato puree, etc.) and then cook in the kettle.  It turned into a crumble - the whole wheat incorporation tastes great, gives a whole grain punch, but sometimes causes a less stable loaf.  Regardless, we had it with grilled asparagus and yellow squash.   Despite being a less than favorable texture, the smokiness was killer.

What's coming on weber_cam?
1. Eons ago, weber cam was intended to be a real webcam to watch my grill while I was in work (to check on it for safety's sake).  I'm contemplating this via ustream.tv to do some ribs for a weeknight.
2. More Firedome (Kate, I haven't forgotten you!).
3. Giada's limoncello recipe looks pretty easy and good, peeling the lemon looks like the tricky part.
4. Mac's merguez is killing me, gotta try it soon.  Merguez is heaven, I'll be scouting out some lamb shoulder at Mediterranean Food Imports for this.
5. Brining a pork shoulder?  This one I did.  I tried a 7 lb brined butt vs a 5 lb non-brined.  The 5-lber was actually better.  Brining provided negligible benefit.  I was surprised.  May try injection sometime.
6. Sweeet 'n sour pickled anything.

That's it for now ...

Black raspberry jam: for us, for gifts

1,950 grams (ca. 4 qts) Black raspberries from Mitchell's Farms

pectin, 2 little boxes

heat to boil

2,200 grams sugar, return to boil and let boil a minute

charge to clean jars, process 10 min in boiling water bath

listen to little popping noises on cooling

eat next day

Thanks to Mom and Frankie for picking berries in the brutal heat of yesterday.

Another tedious update where I torture my readers with annoying details

Dear Reader(s):  My recent attempt at saucisson sec bit it.  At the last minute, I decided to conduct my curing in a cooler where the humidity was >95%.  I did this because I feared rodents in the basement.  The run went bad.  Really, really bad.

The more I read, the more pissed I got.  Seems the 3 body problem of dry curing comes down to: humidity - around 70%, temperature - 55-60°F and air movement.  Getting all these things is tricky; any environment I tested changed drastically when the meat was tossed in, giving off a lot of moisture.

Some days later, I reported my dreadful failure to a friend at our daily coffee and brainstorming session.  He follows these efforts with great interest and provides good advice.  I was retesting spots all over the house, but was skeptical of finding the perfect environment.  My basement, during this warm early Summer is already up at a steady 68-70°F.  My friend suggested I just hang it in the basement.  Who really knows the upper limit of temperature for this curing?  The aging will just go a bit faster at higher temperature - right?   And the rodents?  He suggested I feed the cat less and make him stand guard.  I tossed my analytical gear to the side, stuffed a couple pounds worth and only used the thin (ca. 32 mm) casings giving myself a bit easier a task to dry out the sausage.  So, it wouldn't have the best final attributes, but it'll still taste good (if it doesn't kill me).

I made Ruhlman's saucisson sec recipe, no fermentation, aged 20 days at about 68-71°F, 70-85% RH and plenty of air movement.  Oh, and a spritz with a suspension of white mold.  Finished, really, really good.  But, I wait 48 hours before giving out samples.  I'm still alive at hour 1.

Firedome_2 dry run, about 1100°F steady state

    

The first Firedome pizza oven prototype progressed at glacial speed; I was pursuing the ancient fired pizza with a more common piece of equipment.  I was able to achieve around 700°F on most days.  I knew however, that a higher temperature wasn't merely a bragging right, but a hidden process variable that resulted in a better crust.  I forged onward.

The second Firedome is pictured above, the culmination of dozens of pizzas to date.  More air, better fit to the bottom and super combustion.  It was off the production line, edges polished and all in about 15 minutes.  I closed up the opening a bit, left the flange intact, and left a door on despite the fact that, when opened, it enabled much greater temperatures.  Keeping the door hinged on the dome allows one to lower the temperature if necessary.  It has come a long way.

Tonight, I took a chimney full of lit briquettes and used it to catch about 6 lbs of Trader Joe's briquettes and reached a steady state of about 1100°F for at least an hour and, at that temperature, it's trivial to charge on the fly.  Dry runs are frustrating, I didn't have any dough around, not even for a quick pita.  Could this be too hot for cooking??  I will be sure to keep both of you posted on the first real run.  I think it's a keeper and Firedome_3 should be the production model (minor modifications) and able to be fabricated in about 10 minutes.

Moo shoo pork

Busy day, desperation dinner night. Fast, reasonably healthy, different, fast are the requirements.  A glance through a fav from my goto person for good food, Martha Stewart.  Martha gave some shortcuts, I made the modifications for acceptance by a 7 year old.

Start with a huge polished aluminum fry pan.  Warm some flour tortillas in oven. Prep eggs by scrambling.  Prep boneless pork chops by cutting into strips and coating with a bit of cornstarch, s & p. Prep remaining: shred napa cabbage, thinly slice green onions, shitakes, mince ginger.  Get some veg oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar ... ready.... Go!  Oh, the kid accommodation, all cooked stuff must remain separate.

Heat and oil pan, scramble egg, put on serving tray, cook pork strips and put on serving plate, then, saute greens and shrooms and deglaze with soy and rice vinegar, cook til wilted and place on tray.  Serve dish in center with warm tortillas.  Fill tortillas, add some hoisin to these nifty little moo shoo wrappers.  Yum.

I still have all of my fingers

[lost image due to reshuffling on picasa]

Every good pizza starts at Lowe's.  I got an inexpensive corded Porter angle grinder and a couple metal cutting wheels ... like frickin' butter.  I'm only a couple cuts into it - then I had to go set up a tent for the kid's camp out/sleepover.  Maybe I'll have the kids sand down the rough edges.  In any event, we're in progress.   Keep you posted.

(Mrs. DavesBeer bravely took her finger off the SEND button for 9-1-1 to snap this shot, thanks my Love.)

Firedome_2 coming soon

For those two of you not too bored to get through the tedium that is my flatbread obsession, I made a couple observations  during the pita production to propel me into a few experiments which will inevitably lead to a new and simpler design for my Firedome pizza oven.  At the beginning of that video production, my thermocouple device was measuring 927°F with the door open and went as high as 987°F.  The entire few minutes was filmed with the door open.  I have to figure out if the top vent on the dome needs to be open or closed or if it makes a difference.  Basically, it seems that the open door really kicks up the combustion.

Because that hinged door required me to break the flanged bead of the bottom of the kettle lid, the lid fits sloppy, may be getting gaps that aren't thermally productive.  I may do away with the door; just cut in an opening big enough for a comfortable slide of the peel and big enough to increase combustion.  Dimensions of this will be a guess, but guided by a few more dry runs.  On the other side of the getting the temps up, is the rate of fuel consumption.  If I boost this thing to blast furnace temps, will I be able to cook longer than an hour?  It's looking like I might need a convenient means to do at least one charge mid cooking to get a couple hour feast in.  Not too worried about that.

Next couple weeks, I'll probably take another kettle lid as a casualty and also play around with placement of the pizza stone (it'll be placed away from the opening, not dead center), geometry of the firebricks beneath the stone which help orient the fuel properly and lots of measurements of the headspace temperatures and the cooking surface to make sure it's uniform.  Gonna be awesome!

Oh, and I'm probably going ahead with a plan with Fortin Iron Works to make a dedicated stand for this beast.  Should be a nice wrought iron simple stand; pretty much a 22" diameter and 3' high plant stand.  We sketched out one the other day and he quoted me about $100.

ps, To the locals:  I walk the alleys of C'ville all the time and I see what must be hundreds of pounds of these kettles everywhere - neglected (you bastards).  If you want, I'll take your lid and cut you an experimental design (usable on your existing bottom hemisphere).  You get a cool new pizza oven (which may not be optimal, but will be killer) and I get a data point.  Let me know if you're interested in the comments.

Pita and Polka

Lemonade, with vodka, fizzy not flat

Yesterday, I got taken in by the $2 Full Flight.  A nifty weekend marketing shtick at Weiland's Gourmet Market.  In sync with the lovely warm weather, they featured 4 sips of summer libations.  It began with a couple wheat beers and proceeded into a couple Smirnoff products.  The Tuscan Lemonade depicted here was 3rd on the agenda followed by some kind of Mojito knock off.

I don't like wheat beers much, I was just whetting my appetite and talking to the locals.  But, when I got to the Lemonade, I was ready.  Not quite the umbrella drink I imagined, this thing had a refreshing taste and a kick.  Yes, sign me up.  Hook, line, etc.  A little stronger than wine and $16 for 2L, move over asparagus.

I couldn't leave it alone though.  I wanted a fizz, it needed a fizz.  I poured some into a spare fizzy water bottle, attached my nifty Carbonator Cap and pumped about 40 psi into it from my 20 pounder in the basement brewing facility, chilled and ...

This one time I'll let you ask me about my affairs

Weekends are low 'n slow, proper fuel, execution, temperature monitoring - serious bbq.  Weekdays are a bit different.  We pull a few shortcuts which we'd rather not disclose.  Shameful shortcuts.  But this one time, I'll share.

Tonight, I knew I'd get home a bit late, so I had the game plan rehearsed:

• marinate chicken in spices and oil
• make dipping sauce: yogurt, lemon juice, scant crushed garlic, tahini, salt, mint
• chop, season and skewer vegetables 
• confession: toss Match Light into kettle with a match - whooosh (sound of the ozone escaping)
• skewer chicken (See those ultra cool saber-like Sadaf skewers?  Mediterranean Imports - the flat blade enables easier turning.)
• grill direct with the top down
• let cooked flesh rest
• eat

Not  bad for a quick meal.  Served with some short grain brown rice.

Been a busy couple weeks, once in a while, I ran into the kitchen ...

Grilled tilapia and brown rice for dinner.  I tried roasted napa cabbage as the veggie. A light sprinkle of sesame oil, salt and 450°F for 15 minutes.  Not bad, the crunchy bits were a nice contrast, but don't know if I'd do it again.  I'm in a veggie slump.  Need a Greener Grocer fix.

For the past 24 hours, my kettle's been about 225-300°F.  Cooked a butt and smoked some almonds (see below).  Had the pulled pork on homemade corn tortillas with salsa and a bit of cheddar and pintos on the side.  Absolute heaven.

Across the ravine, a resident has a cherry tree about to go ripe.  We want them ALL.  The Mrs - pies, me - dried.  I'm contemplating a deal where we take them and return to her a batch of lovely dried cherries.

Menu In Progress is a cool site.  They make special foods that appeal to me very much.  I tried their recipe for smoked almonds (linked).  The only problem is they don't last very long.  My qa effort has taken quite a toll on the final yield.

Weilands Gourmet Market has some killer melons.  Go get one while they last.

Saucisson: 18 days: White, fuzzy, cute, more firm.  I'm getting a little bit antsy waiting to see if my best run yet is my best run yet.  Maybe another 2 weeks??